World War II had ravaged all of Europe, but as Germany had lost the war ultimately, it was left to the superpowers of the world to deal with. East Germany, also known as the German Democratic Republic, would become part of the Soviet Union in 1949, while the rest of Germany retained democracy. The GDR was surrounded by a wall, barbed wire, and military and with the purpose of keeping the citizens of East Germany from escaping to West Germany.
On this day February 13th, in 1990, East and West Germany had their two stage plan to reincorporate the GDR to Germany. The plan consisted of East and West Germany first discussing issues and preliminary ideas. The second part was bringing the resolutions to the U.S. and France to be discussed further. The transition took time but was ultimately successful.
East Germany ended on November 9th, 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down. Soon thereafter the entire Soviet Union collapsed, as it was ever apparent that the Soviet Union no longer could control its citizens. The GDR’s return to Germany has become celebrated on November 9th of every year.